The novel included elements of politics and history which are generally winners for me, as I try to delve deep into what makes a country tick, and I wanted to know more about Pakistan’s military dictator General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, one of the main ‘characters’.

There is no doubt that this is an extremely well-written and intelligent novel, with plenty of very dark humor. But, in a lot of ways, it’s not for me.

I guess the best way I could describe it is as a bit of a ‘boy’s book’. I hadn’t quite realised that so much of the novel was to be set slap bang in the middle of the Pakistani army scene, and how few female characters there would be. Our hero is Ali Shigri, a young military officer who is evidently up to something, we’re just not sure what, for most of the novel. Someone suspects something though, because he is soon whisked away by the Pakistani security forces who attempt to find out more details, and as you can imagine that’s not a particularly pleasurable experience for young Ali. (Or for the reader!!)

General Zia’s mysterious death

What we do know, is all of this will somehow climax in the death of General Zia, when his plane crashes in the desert on August 17, 1988.

We know Ali has something to do with it, but again, we’re not quite sure what…

If this all sounds a bit cloak and dagger, then that’s because it is. It may be because my reading of this novel was a bit interrupted, but I found it challenging at times to remember what I was suppose to know and what I wasn’t. The story meanders a fair bit in time, and for me, took too long to get to the bit I was really interested in – the plane crash.

It wasn’t only Zia who was killed when his plane went down – several of his top generals and the US ambassador also lost their lives. Hanif includes many of the real characters and facts known about the crash in his reconstruction in Mangoes, but he plays on the speculation about its cause in coming up with his own interpretation of the events.

I did enjoy the comic portrayal of General Zia, who suffers from (justified!) paranoia that his life is in danger, subordinates who are trying to usurp him, an uncontrollable fascination with the cleavage of an American journalist and a severe rectal itch he is embarrassed to share with his own doctor.

In real life, Zia took Pakistan’s helm after staging a military coup in 1977. He became president in 1978 and ruled largely under martial law for eleven years. While in the past I’m sure his name has passed me by, I will be far more interested in any references to him in future reading on Pakistan having read this book. While it is no doubt an unfair portrayal of the man, it is going to be hard not to imagine him bending over with his head between two flags, as a Saudi doctor gives him a rectal examination next time he’s mentioned in a newspaper article! This is the magic of novels – they give us memorable anecdotes to refer to as we go about our lives!

Click on the image below to see a video announcing the death of General Zia

While I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ Mangoes particularly, it is a novel which will remain with me for a long time. Pakistan’s history is filled with political assassinations and military intrigue – and while this book is obviously satire, it does give us a way into that history in an unusual way.

There are very few female characters, and those there are play very small roles. For me, that always makes the reading of any novel that little less enjoyable. But to be fair to Hanif, this novel is set in a man’s world, and there is little opportunity to explore what the women were thinking at the time.

If you enjoy satire and can see the attraction in hanging around with military cadets and political prisoners you will enjoy this novel. You will enjoy the absurdity of ‘OBL’ of Laden and Co Constructions trying to make small talk at a Fourth of July BBQ hosted by the US ambassador, and of General Zia heading out on a bicycle in disguise in an attempt to find out what his people really think of him. Hanif has created many amusing, preposterous scenes that you cannot help laughing at, and there are images which will stay with you for a long time.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a truly original novel which will show you a side of Pakistan I suspect you have not seen before, and while I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ this book, it is still one which is very much worth reading.

And if you are fascinated by the conspiracy theories the novel throws up, then you may enjoy Hanif’s facebook group called Who killed General Zia? where they are discussed in great detail. We also have plenty of other suggestions for books set in Pakistan if you’d like to explore the country a little further.

Disclosure Policy If you click on the links in the posts to buy books, then I will receive a tiny commission for referring you. This does not affect the price you pay for the books, and I am grateful for your support. Every little bit helps! Thank you. (Packabook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

I have been looking forward to this one – Pakistan has a fascinating history, and with many new writers emerging for English-language readers it is an exciting time to learn more about what makes the country tick.

In reading any novel about Pakistan, a bit of an understanding of the history is important. Please bear with me here – it is a little complicated, but we will get there in the end!

.

The Partition of British India in 1947 which led to the formation of two states along religious lines – Pakistan (Muslim) and India (Hindu) – lies at the heart of many novels set in both countries. This is understandable, it led to massive upheaval for those who were forced to flee their homes so they could be on “the right side” of the lines of division, as well as to horrific sectarian violence and bloodshed, often between people who had been friends and neighbors for a lifetime.

But Partition was not as simple as simply dividing British India into two. The Muslim population was concentrated in two different areas, the north-west of the Indian subcontinent and a delta to the very east, on the Bay of Bengal. So when the two states of Pakistan and India were created, Pakistan itself was divided into two with one part in the west and another more than a thousand miles away to the east – in between was India.

If you’d like to know a little bit more, the BBC gives an overview here. There are also some excellent BBC videos over at YouTube, but I am not convinced they have been uploaded with the permission of the BBC so am loathe to link to them. Have a look yourself if you are keen to see some great footage.

.
This set the scene for more conflict, when in March 1971 the more politically powerful West Pakistan launched a military operation against Bengali civilians in East Pakistan who were calling for independence. This resulted in a civil war, complete with guerrilla operations and a flood of refugees to India. India decided to support the East and this led to conflict on the India-West Pakistan border. In December 1971 the West Pakistani forces were defeated in East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh.

A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam explores this conflict through the eyes of one family – a young widow Rehana Haque and her two teenage children. Initially oblivious to the political dissent around her, Rehana is soon caught up in the rebellion and resulting conflict. The novel is the first of a proposed trilogy, with the second instalment The Good Muslim just about to be released.

If you would prefer to explore more contemporary Pakistan in this challenge, rather than delve into the history, here are a few ideas.

Apart from anything else A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif has one of the most intriguing titles I have come across for some time!

A fictional take on the death of Pakistan’s dictator General Zia in a mysterious plane crash in August 1988, this novel is touted as a comedy. Apparently many of the characters and events portrayed in the book are real – and the reviewers on Amazon promise me and “unpredictable but very enjoyable read”. That’s enough for me!

Disclosure Policy If you click on the links in the posts to buy books, then I will receive a tiny commission for referring you. This does not affect the price you pay for the books, and I am grateful for your support. Every little bit helps! Thank you. (Packabook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

I have just finished reading Andrea Levy’s The Long Song for the World Party Reading Challenge for books set in Jamaica and so while I’m finding myself thinking in the style of Miss July’s Jamaican patois, I shall do my very best not to write in it!

I really enjoyed this novel in which we view the abolishing of slavery in Jamaica through the unreliable eyes of Levy’s main character Miss July, interrupted by the odd interjection from July’s son Thomas, who questions her recollections.

Born on a slave plantation and taken away from her mother to become a ‘lady’s maid’ at around nine years old, July is forced to wait hand and foot on her ‘Missus’, Caroline Mortimer, the sister of the plantation owner John Howarth. Caroline soon becomes almost entirely dependent on July, and the relationship between the two of them is one of the main strands of the novel.

It is when July is in her late teens that the plantation’s slaves start smelling the whiff of freedom, but it is still many years before emancipation, and the road there is far from smooth.

As is inevitable in any book about slavery, this novel is confronting. And at times it is almost unbearable to witness the attitudes of the plantation owners.

In one scene, Howarth is showing off the strength of his slave Kitty to Caroline.

“Show your mistress your legs,” (Howarth says to Kitty) Kitty did not move. “Lift up your skirt and show her your legs.” When Kitty still did not take heed of his command he huffed,”Oh, good God,” before grabbing the worn cloth of Kitty’s skirt and raising it almost to her waist. Kitty turned her head to one side as John Howarth beckoned his sister. He commenced rubbing his hand up and down Kitty’s leg saying, “Come and feel the muscles.”

This is not the worst example of the liberties whites took with the bodies of their slaves, but it does reveal the casual indifference they had towards them – treating them as nothing more than livestock.

There is no gloss to be seen in Levy’s account of daily life on the plantation – from the birth of children to the reality of daily ablutions, the raw physical nature of plantation life is revealed in all its glory. Here are just a couple of examples:

“But Kitty did at that moment fall upon her knees and, with her heavy belly brushing the dirt floor, crawl upon the mat. Soon the trash, which was the substance of her mattress, was soaked through with Kitty’s sweat – it squelched underneath her as she writhed, tormented, for some position that might ease her pain.”

“One–wearing a bright-red madras kerchief upon her head and an apron at her waist that was so splattered with stains it did appear like a map — was chewing upon something with her mouth agape. Another picked at the contents of her nose, wiping it upon the filthy rag of her skirt as she angled her head awkwardly so she might better see through an eye that was bruised-bloody, swollen and half closed.”

All the worst of human physicality is proudly displayed in this novel – and it is not for the squeamish!

But despite being in a novel which appears to be coated in sweat and grime, July emerges as a truly irrepressible character. She is mischievous and feisty, intelligent and quick-witted and her ability to outfox her lazy, dim mistress is true entertainment.

The Baptist War

While Levy moves through various time periods, it is the lead up to and the years following the abolishing of slavery in the British Empire which hold the most interest for me.

There is very little historical fact and background included in the novel itself because as July points out, without the benefits of modern communications, she really didn’t know what was going on around the island throughout such pivotal events. Referring to the telephone she says “If there was such an invention at the time of this Baptist War (as my son does name it), then I am sure I would have known what was going on everywhere at one time. But there was not.”

So, as July is unable to furnish us with the facts, here’s what I have been able to find out.

The Baptist War of Christmas 1831 was an uprising which saw as many as 60,000 slaves mobilised. It had begun as a general strike but soon became a fully-fledged rebellion lasting 10 days. Led by the Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe the uprising was soon repressed by the plantation owners and Sharpe was hanged. Around 500 slaves were killed during the revolt or executed afterwards.

But while the rebellion was unsuccessful, it is thought to have contributed to the call for emancipation, which finally came in 1938.

For July and her fellow slaves, this period is filled with much uncertainty, and it is heartbreaking to witness these promises of freedom being routinely dashed. And even when the slave-trade is completely abolished, things do not necessarily improve – the rules are all gone, and plantations are not obligated to hire or house the people who have worked their lands for generations. The former slaves do not emerge into a level playing field.

It is distressing to realise how deeply the arrogance and contempt of the white plantation owners ran both before and after abolition. Even apparently ‘enlightened’ characters are unable to contemplate a world in which the former slaves might have their own ideas, ambitions and abilities – and in fact do all they can to crush their entrepreneurial spirit.

New life for Falmouth?

The novel is set in Falmouth on Jamaica’s north coast; it had one of the busiest ports on the island and was central to the slave trade. With nearly a hundred plantations producing sugar and rum, Falmouth was wealthy and vibrant during its heyday with as many as 30 ships in the harbour on any given day.

But with the end of slavery, the town suffered a rapid decline. This has left at least one positive legacy. With a lack of development over the years, many of Falmouth’s original buildings are still standing, making it one of the best preserved Georgian towns in the Caribbean.

Falmouth has recently experienced a resurgence, as cruise companies realise its potential both for historical tourism and as a landing point for those wishing to visit Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. In fact one such cruise liner has spearheaded the building of a new port, which it is hoped will bring much needed commercial activity to the town. As with all projects such as this there is some controversy, but those behind it say it will be sensitive to the historic nature of the town. If anyone has been to Falmouth recently, I would love to hear your thoughts on this…I understand it is still very much a work in progress.

In so many ways this is a heart-breaking novel and reminds us that it often takes generations before real change is made. And even when it does, there are new sets of problems; the legacy of what has come before. But despite the dark history being told here, Levy’s (and July’s) narration manages to pick out the light moments and give us plenty to smile about along the way.

On finishing this novel I couldn’t help but think how much I’d love to sit down with Miss July to share a cup of tea and some of her finest naseberry preserve – and have her tell me some more of her marvellous stories. Of course, I know Miss July has a habit of bending the truth from time to time, but I think I can live with that!

Suzi

P.S. Have you read The Long Song? Have you ever been to Falmouth? Let us know in the comments what you thought….

Disclosure Policy If you click on the links in the posts to buy books, then I will receive a tiny commission for referring you. This does not affect the price you pay for the books, and I am grateful for your support. Every little bit helps! Thank you. (Packabook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

Well, I have been a dismal failure in keeping up with my own (inherited!) challenge…but as with all setbacks, there is nothing to be done but to pick yourself up and carry on.

So for now, we are all going to have to do a little bit of creative calendaring and pretend we are back in April…while we make a little trip to Jamaica for the World Party Reading Challenge.

There was really no choice for me when it came to considering books set in Jamaica – I knew exactly which one I wanted to read. Andrea Levy’s The Long Song has been on my TBR list ever since it came out last year, so I have just download it onto my kindle (yes, I have succumbed!) and am keen to get started.

The novel is set in the 19th century and is the story of July, a Jamaican house slave on a sugar plantation. July grows up at a time when calls for freedom are gathering, culminating in a slave revolt which leads to emancipation in 1838 – so I’m guessing we will experience a whole heap of Jamaican history through July’s eyes.

I know little about Jamaica, so am looking forward to finding out more.

A couple of other novels you may want to consider are….

The Pirate’s Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson in which we witness political change and the glamor of Hollywood visitors to the island through three generations of women. After screen legend Errol Flynn is nearly shipwrecked off the Jamaican coast, he sets up home on Navy Island, where he holds glittering parties and has an affair with a young Jamaican girl, Ida. The story of Jamaica’s tumultuous struggle for self-rule and its eventual independence are all part of this novel which centers on Ida as she attempts to care for the child Flynn leaves behind.

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James is another story of slavery and rebellion on a Jamaican sugar cane plantation. Written in Jamaican patois, this story of the slave girl Lillith and the ‘Night Women’ who plot to bring about change reveals the brutality and horror of the time.

And there are several others listed at our Jamaica page, so take a look and see if anything there inspires you.

Here’s a few of the important bits of Jamaican history you will want to keep in mind as you are reading.

Jamaica is in the Caribbean Sea about 90 miles (145 kilometres) south of Cuba. It was first claimed by the Spanish, and then became a British colony after it was seized by the English in 1655. It is still part of the British Commonwealth.

Slavery was part of Jamaica from the days of Spanish colonialism when African slaves were brought to the island. The trading of slaves was banned in 1807, but it was the 1830’s before slavery itself was officially abolished.

Jamaica became independent in 1962 after a brief time being a part of the Federation of West Indies.

Now if you have been incredibly organised and have actually read your Jamaica book already, then I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Or if you have a review of a book set in Jamaica on your own blog, then give us a link so we can all see what you think….

But if, like me, you are still thinking you are in April…then now is the perfect time to get started…

Disclosure Policy If you click on the links in the posts to buy books, then I will receive a tiny commission for referring you. This does not affect the price you pay for the books, and I am grateful for your support. Every little bit helps! Thank you. (Packabook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

But who better to tell us a little more about Vish “Chubby” Puri and his life in Delhi than his creator, author Tarquin Hall. He also has some unusual suggestions for places you could visit on your next trip to India…

Tarquin, what inspired you to set a series of novels in India?

The book came about after I was talking to one of my wife’s cousins in Delhi a few years ago. Her parents were trying to get her married off and she was telling me about how she had been investigated by a private investigator. Apparently this man had called up her work colleagues and asked them about her character: did she smoke, have a boyfriend, etc. He also asked one of them to bring her out into the street in front of her office so the parents of a prospective ‘boy’ could drive past and get a look at her. I guess they didn’t like what they saw because she’s still trying to find a match. But I decided to track down some Delhi detectives and write about them. I interviewed several and this culminated in a story for the Sunday Times in the UK. I was amazed by the types of cases they were dealing with: not only matrimonial (although these often offered fascinating insights into middle class culture), but murders, kidnappings, fraud. One detective described to me how he had even gone under cover in a nudist colony! Another showed me all his homemade bugs and talked about how he bribed employees at telecom companies to provide mobile phone records.

Did you always plan on doing a detective series, or is there something about India that encouraged you to go down that path?

I never planned to write detective fiction. My main interest was in writing about modern India and I decided that a private investigator would be a good way to describe it. I’m hoping that Vish Puri’s adventures will help Western readers better understand this place. Many of them are familiar with the India of the Raj and Mughal periods, but they don’t really understand or know the country today.

What impression of India are you hoping people are left with when they read these novels?

Unless you happen to be a total dullard, I don’t think you could possibly write about India and not get across what an extraordinarily diverse, complex, multi-layered, mesmerising, surprising, challenging and at times bewildering place it can be! Anyone reading these books is going to get that in spades – and also be given a strong impression of how things are changing and then again how they’re not. One moment detective Vish Puri is in a luxury apartment complex or a shopping mall, the next he’s in a Delhi slum looking for India’s hereditary magicians. There’s this constant juxtaposition between the traditional and modern, the wealth and extreme poverty, the rationalism and the superstition/belief.

Do you intend for the novels to address any of the political/social issues in contemporary Indian society?

These are not dark books – the plots are not about gruesome murders set in filth-ridden slums. But the idea is to describe India today and to do so you inevitably illustrate the contradictions, the issues in society. Each book has a theme – the first is essentially about the middle classes and their servants and the rigid hierarchy that is still very much in evidence here; the second is about belief and the place of gurus in modern Indian society; the third, which I’m writing now, is essentially about the relationship between India and Pakistan and the history the two countries have shared since 1947. It’s all done with a light touch and the plots and sub-plots take you into a lot of different situations. So far I’ve steered clear of politics because it’s all so complicated, but I don’t shy from pointing out the corruption which colours everyday life at all levels.

What are the challenges of commenting on Indian society as an outsider, and how has that been received?

Indians can be very sensitive about outsiders analysing their country. I think they’ve had a belly full of Brits like me describing the place. But these books are tremendous fun, they’re full of humour, and so far – fingers crossed – I’ve had fantastic reviews in the Indian press and received lots and lots of extremely flattering emails and messages from Indian fans who say they love them. That’s been quite a relief!

How much time have you spent in India yourself?

About six years all in all. I’m living back here in New Delhi now with my wife, who was born in India but grew up in the US, and our little boy.

So what should we do on a trip to India?

What are the top three must-dos for people travelling to Delhi?

Humayan’s Tomb is my favourite place in Delhi. It’s just a few paces from where I live. The architecture blows my mind – just exquisite. Second: the old walled city i.e. Old Delhi – you could explore the narrow, congested alleys and street forever. Third: Bhogal market – if you want to see the real Delhi without having to go far, this place is as dirty, crowded and noisy as it gets. You will find everything for sale – from tandoor ovens to fighting kites – as well as groups of large Punjabi men sitting on the pavements playing teen patti. Not a tourist in sight.

Is there somewhere people can visit that is particularly related to the novel? Somewhere Vish Puri may frequent?

Oooh lots of places. His office is in Khan Market, a posh market in south Delhi that was quite sleepy in the mid-90s when I lived here and is now full of designer boutiques but where you can still get great kebabs as well. You’ll see girls in over-sized sunglasses and heels stumbling along the uneven pavements and, at the back, auto-rickshaw drivers elbowing their way into the cramped wine and liquor shop to buy their evening dose of ‘Double Dog’ whisky. Puri is to be found at the old British Gymkhana Club most evenings. But he lives in Gurgaon, one of Delhi’s burgeoning suburbs, which is all gated communities, plush apartment blocks, malls and glass office blocks. Quite a contrast to the Delhi of the Red Fort!

And how about somewhere that is really off the beaten track? A hidden secret?

Shadipur Slum, which features in ‘The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing’ is where you’ll find Delhi’s magicians and street performers. At first you’ll think it’s any old slum and then suddenly you’ll come across a fire breather blowing flames from his mouth.

And what next for Vish Puri?

‘The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken’. The elderly father of a Pakistani international playing in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament drops dead at an after match dinner. At the same time Puri has to figure out why someone has shaved off and attempted to steal India’s longest moustache from its owner.

Thanks Tarquin! Having read a review copy of The Case of the Missing Servant, and starting now on The Case of the Man who Died Laughing…I can recommend the novels for anyone who is looking for something a little light and cheery to help them through their day. And I like to see that while Puri himself is obviously the hero, he is joined by some wonderful female characters who are more than able to give him a run for his money…not that he would ever admit that of course!

Time perhaps to delve into some books set in India and immerse yourself in the wonderful world of Vish Puri…all of which makes me fancy a curry right about now!

Suzi

——————————————————————————-

Disclosure Policy If you click on the links in the posts to buy books, then I will receive a tiny commission for referring you. This does not affect the price you pay for the books, and I am grateful for your support. Every little bit helps! Thank you. (Packabook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

Please note - if you read our reviews and click on our links to buy books, we will receive a tiny commission for referring you. This does not affect the price you pay for the books, and we thank you for your support!
Packabook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com